South By Southwest is happening right now, spanning this year from March 8 to 16. Things haven’t been perfect so far, though. Some artists have opted to pull out of their performances due to one of the festival’s sponsors. Now, SXSW has shared a statement after a hit-and-run in Austin resulted in a death.
SXSW’s statement reads, “We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of an individual in downtown Austin following an auto-pedestrian accident shortly after 1:00am this morning. Our thoughts are with all affected by this tragic incident.”
This is a developing situation and more updates may become available. pic.twitter.com/JkgUpmO20O
— SXSW (@sxsw) March 12, 2024
As Fox 7 Austin reports, after 1 a.m. on March 12, two pedestrians were walking at the intersection of 7th Street and Red River and were hit by a vehicle, according to police. One of them died on the scene, while the other was taken to a hospital “with critical, life-threatening injuries.” The intersection has closed after the accident but had re-opened as of 5 a.m. Police are still looking for the driver.
The intersection where the hit-and-run took place is near participating SXSW venues like Elysium, The Creek And The Cave, and Flamingo Cantina, among others.
Meanwhile, Uproxx recently published a guide on the unofficial SXSW parties happening in Austin, so learn more about that here.